Kronos Worldwide, Inc. KRO recorded net income of $196.5 million or $1.70 per share in second-quarter 2017, compared with net income of $1.7 million or a penny per share a year ago.Higher income from operations resulting from favorable impacts of improved selling prices, increased sales and production volumes and reduced raw materials and other production costs provided a boost to Kronos Worldwide’s second-quarter performance.Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings were 34 cents per share in the reported quarter, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 42 cents.Net revenues jumped around 23.9% year-over-year to $441.4 million, on the back of higher titanium dioxide (TiO2) selling prices and increased sales volumes.Kronos Worldwide Inc Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Kronos Worldwide Inc Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Kronos Worldwide Inc QuoteVolumes and PricingTiO2 sales volumes in second quarter rose 6% year over year on increased sales in the European and North American markets, partly offset by decreased sales in the Latin American market.TiO2 production volumes increased 8% year over year in the quarter and average TiO2 selling prices went up about 20% year over year in the reported quarter. Prices were also 12% higher compared with the end of 2016 with higher prices recorded across all key markets. Balance SheetKronos Worldwide ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $114.1 million, up around 44.1% year over year. Long-term debt was $350.8 million, up around 4.2% year over year. Cash flows from operating activities were $101.6 million for first-half 2017 compared with $16.6 million for the same period a year ago.OutlookKronos Worldwide expects its production volumes to be modestly higher in 2017 on a year-over-year basis as production rates this year will be favorably impacted by the implementation of certain productivity-enhancing improvement projects at some facilities. The company also envisions income from operations in 2017 will be higher on a year-over-year basis, mainly due to an expected increase in average selling prices and the favorable impact of anticipated higher production volumes in 2017.Price PerformanceShares of Kronos Worldwide have gained 40.3% in last six months, significantly outperforming the industry’s 7% gain. Zacks Rank & Other Key PicksKronos Worldwide currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).Some other top-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are POSCO PKX, The Chemours Company CC and Akzo Nobel NV AKZOY. All three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.POSCO has expected long-term earnings growth rate of 5%.Chemours has expected long-term earnings growth rate of 15.5%.Akzo Nobel has expected long-term earnings growth rate of 11.1%.More Stock News: Tech Opportunity Worth $386 Billion in 2017From driverless cars to artificial intelligence, we've seen an unsurpassed growth of high-tech products in recent months. Yesterday's science-fiction is becoming today's reality. Despite all the innovation, there is a single component no tech company can survive without. Demand for this critical device will reach $387 billion this year alone, and it's likely to grow even faster in the future.Zacks has released a brand-new Special Report to help you take advantage of this exciting investment opportunity. Most importantly, it reveals 4 stocks with massive profit potential. See these stocks now>>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Kronos Worldwide Inc (KRO): Free Stock Analysis Report Chemours Company (The) (CC): Free Stock Analysis Report Akzo Nobel NV (AKZOY): Free Stock Analysis Report POSCO (PKX): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.